Above And Beyond Promotion

Archive for June, 2010

Mental Training in Basketball: The Driving Force in every Game

Word Count:
688

Summary:
Most people would tend to perceive basketball as a purely physical game. You can see that evidence everywhere: endless physical trainings to bout any bodily weaknesses; energy drinks and foods that focus on combating fatigue; clothes and shoes that give comfort during the game; etcetera, etcetera.

Keywords:
sport, basketball, basketball plays, history of basketball, basketball court dimensions, basketball tips, rules of basketball, basketball positions, how to play basketball, basketball moves, basketball layouts, basketball offense, basketball tricks, basketball dribbling, basketball defense, high school basketball rules, basketball conditioning, ncaa basketball rules, basketball fundamentals, basketball passing, basketball playbook, basketball drill, basketball kids, basketball shooting tips, college basketball rules, the rules of basketball, basketball basics, basketball skill

Article Body:
Most people would tend to perceive basketball as a purely physical game. You can see that evidence everywhere: endless physical trainings to bout any bodily weaknesses; energy drinks and foods that focus on combating fatigue; clothes and shoes that give comfort during the game; etcetera, etcetera.

Perhaps, to add further proof, we can add in the basketball athletes’ way of delivering the game itself. They thrust and drive and pivot and shoot-it’s all a perspiration-inducing game.

But beyond all the physicality of the game, it would be wise to believe that mental preparation is also a necessity in this type of sport. Mental training isn’t just for chess or any sedentary mind game. In fact, it is equally as important as physical trainings.

Now, you might be asking, how you will be able to incorporate mental training or any psychological preparation into each of your game. It’s definitely not easy. The basic attitudes are persistence, perseverance and the will to finish any commitment. Just like physical training, the required mental trainings ask for competitiveness and the three attitudes just mentioned are essential.

0nce you are committed to do whatever it takes to gain the edge on your game, here are the most common techniques that mind experts (that’s psychologists to you) advise you to do:

1. Relaxation of the mind-this includes exercises that are similar to yoga exercises where you relax your mind inspite of the distractions. The mind relaxation technique is voluntary and you should be able to calm your mind even if the dog outside is barking or when your roommate has just blasted on the TV. Concentration is the keyword in achieving this technique. This means you should be able to control what you feel even if you have just gone through a stressful day at the office.

2. The Will to change Unpleasant Attitudes-this is a must. To be able to incorporate new ways into your game, you should be willing to give up your old ways. If there are many attitudes that get in the way of gaining a better game, then you must get rid of them for the sake of improvement. Anger management is on this list. If you are the type that explodes at the smallest provocation, then it is high time to control this negative attitude and gear it towards having a controlled temper. If you are also the type that puts off routines and other necessary trainings until you tend to cram when the game draws near, then it’s time to discipline yourself.

3. Control of Energy-you will be better able to direct your strength towards the achievement of a better basketball game.

4. Have a Can Do Attitude-visualize yourself scoring more than you have ever done. If you believe in yourself and the power that your mind is able to do, then you will start seeing results. Equipped with this newfound attitude towards the game (and life in general) and constant practice, then there is nowhere to go but up.

5. There was an interesting study on stress management called the Stress Inoculation training. In this training, the basketball athletes were exposed to minimal, initial doses of stress until they gradually underwent heightened introduction of stresses. This study wanted to prove that immunity from stress might be achieved. Perhaps a good source of ‘stress’ would be the rigors of basketball training itself. It’s physically draining but in a good way.

6. Attain a confident attitude-self-esteem is an integral part on any basketball player’s game. Once he has the confidence, all other techniques come easy.

7. Love of the Game-work becomes work only if it stops being something you enjoy. When an athlete starts to see the boring side of the game or when he fails to ‘feel’ the game, then that’s where failure creeps in. Shun basketball when you don’t enjoy it-plain and simple.

There are so many techniques of basketball game improvement. But if you have read carefully, you will notice that it all boils down to one-you. When you know what you want and work hard to achieve it physically, nutritionally and mentally, then you are on your way to achieving success.

Super Savvy Internet Promotion

Word Count:
1186

Summary:
What happens if you build a website and no one shows up? You spend hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars on a site that gets a few visitors at best and certainly isn’t selling your books. For the most part, authors assume that Internet promotion stops once their site is up. But the harsh truth is that with all the sites popping up every day, yours will likely get lost in the shuffle unless you promote it.

Some years back, my company began pushing authors out to the ‘Net to …

Keywords:
books, promotion, writing, publicity, marketing, publishing

Article Body:
What happens if you build a website and no one shows up? You spend hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars on a site that gets a few visitors at best and certainly isn’t selling your books. For the most part, authors assume that Internet promotion stops once their site is up. But the harsh truth is that with all the sites popping up every day, yours will likely get lost in the shuffle unless you promote it.

Some years back, my company began pushing authors out to the ‘Net to help increase their exposure and get into markets they might not otherwise have access to. In early 2005 I began pulling together what we’d learned and positioning it in a powerful new promotional program we call The Virtual Author Tour?, a campaign that exists only on the ‘Net and one that you can implement too.

If the thought of virtual promotion is confusing, think of it this way: let’s say you build a wonderful store in the middle of an Iowa corn field. The only problem is there are no roads leading to it. A tour on the ‘Net is like paving a super highway to your “store” and to tell you the truth, it’s really the only way surfers will find you.

To begin your own tour you need to have a good understanding of who your audience is and where they hang out on the ‘Net. For some readers it will be in blogs (also called web logs), for others it might be chat groups, message boards or discussion groups but for most, it’s a combination of all of these.

Whatever it is, you should be able to begin tracking them down by doing a quick Google search on your topic or market. Your first search will bring you back a slew of sites, some of them great and some of them not-so-great. The first portion of the tour will take the most time because you’re going to have to investigate the sites to see how effective they might be in your promotional efforts.

One way to gauge this is to see what their Google page rank is. You can type the site into the following link and get a fairly good idea of where they rank: http://mygooglepagerank.com/ or you can load the Google toolbar into your Internet Explorer and get results each time you land on a page. Few sites will rank 10, but if the sites you’re looking at are 5 and above, you’re generally in the ballpark of sites worthy of a pitch. We will typically toss back anything that’s 4 and below unless the topic is very niche and the sites don’t get lots of hits because of a smaller market.

Once you have your list of sites, you’ll need to begin pitching them. Most often this is the area where authors get stuck. Why? Because they’re focused on selling their books. Regardless of who you’re pitching, you should never, ever sell your book. Always sell what your book can do for the reader and believe me, web sites, blogs, chat groups and discussion forums are always looking for books that will appeal to their demographic.

As you’re pulling together your tour, don’t overlook ezine article banks, these can be powerful too. If you’re unfamiliar with them take a peek at http://www.articlecity.com/ and you’ll see what I mean. This site archives hundreds of thousands of articles just waiting to be selected and placed in ezines. The good thing about this is that you never know the size of the ezine you’ll get placed in. It could have a readership of 500 or 20,000. Another good reason to do article submission is for the incoming links. Most of the main search engines change their algorithms quite frequently, doing this causes sites to go up and down in ranking but incoming links from websites, chats, blogs, and article placement can help give a site more consistent ranking rather than being at the mercy of an algorithm change.

And no virtual tour would be complete without a website, so let’s circle back to where we started, that all important author site. Do you have one? If you don’t you should not begin your virtual tour until you do. If you do have one, take a long, hard look at your site and see if it’s ready for virtual exposure. By this I mean that often times, websites aren’t nearly as “ready” as they could be. Why? Well for one your site design is really driven by your audience. Colors, styles, and wording will all depend on who you’re marketing to. Do you need lots of information or very little? All of this will depend on who your reader is. My site for example: http://www.amarketingexpert.com is packed with information. Why? Because authors and publishers arrive at my site hungry for knowledge so having articles, tips and lots of free information on there is necessary to not only get my audience to the site, but to keep them there.

Getting to know your reader is one of the most important components of any campaign and is especially true when you’re trying to go from a ho-hum site, to one that’s making the grade and converting visitors into customers. Do you know what your site conversion rate is? If you don’t you should; ask your web designer or site host for this information. It’s typically delivered in something called an Urchin report which is fairly easy to read and a wealth of information. If your site isn’t up to par, consider getting it Internet ready before you launch your tour. If you’re spending all this time sending folks to your site, you’ll want them to convert into buyers otherwise your time spent on the ‘Net is wasted.

Unlike a real tour around the country, a virtual tour isn’t associated with any timeline per se and it’s certainly not as expensive as the cost of travel and lodging. The impact from a tour, however, can be felt for a long time. The reason for this is that unlike print or broadcast media, every step you take on the ‘Net leaves a footprint. And the more footprints you have, the more times you’ll come up in a search and the more hits you’ll get on your site.

Also, consider this: the impact of going directly to your audience cannot be overstated. Rarely are you given the opportunity to gain direct access to your readers as you are on the ‘Net. You can’t accomplish this in a bookstore or even in the best news piece. And while traditional media and bookstore placement offer great promotional leverage, the ‘Net offers something that no other marketing programs do: a direct pipeline to your readers. So if you haven’t “gone virtual” you should consider it. No campaign is complete without it.

Wishing you virtual success!

Bob’s venting: I tried to tell you in February!

Word Count:
726

Summary:
Back in late February I was getting nauseous listening to the garbage resonating from the San Francisco Giants training camp in regards to drug user Barry Bonds.

Keywords:
Online Sports Betting, Online Sports Gambling, Sports Betting, Online Gambling, baseball, baseball betting

Article Body:
Back in late February I was getting nauseous listening to the garbage resonating from the San Francisco Giants training camp in regards to drug user Barry Bonds. He was as usual complaining about his aching knees, when what it really was the withdrawal symptoms from all the “ROIDS” that were being flushed out of his system. I suggested at this time that Barry would not hit over 25 homeruns in 2006, and urged you to place a bet if it was available.

Today it is May 15th and it certainly could not happen to a nicer guy then Bonds as he is struggling big time with a 2.17 batting average , 5 HOMERUNS and a paltry12 RBI’s in 32 games and 88 at bats. There is a great lesson to be learned from the faltering decline of Barry Bonds the former baseball superstar. When he decided a few years ago to prolong his career with the “Clear and the Cream” courtesy of Balco, his goal was to replace Henry Aaron as the most prolific homerun hitter in MLB history.

What he is going to get is a whole lot of grief and be chased from the game, as a less then average major league hitter. The chances of Bond turning this dismal season around, is about the same percentage that the Kansas City Royals have of not losing 100 games this season.

We are all guilty of at least once in our lives of fantasying about some dream scenario, that we have little chance of obtaining. But we all like to do it. As we have seen in Bond’s case, “Be careful what you ask for”!

February article reprint:

BARRY BONDS WILL NOT HIT 25 HOME RUNS!

It would be safe to say that very few people turn me off as much as Barry Bonds does and as I said a few years ago, I wish he would just go away and climb under the rock he came out from about twenty years ago. On the other hand, this is Major League Baseball and as long as someone is lining up with $18 million a year to pay him to play, why would he go away?

What really blows me away is his whining about his bad knee and how there are days when he cannot tolerate the pain. This is Barry Bonds not Jerome Bettis who is a athlete who has been getting pounded by vicious tackles the past fifteen years and plays a game where he actually does hit the grass.

Bonds has been standing in left field the past several years, playing a sport that requires you to stand in the sun for maybe twenty minutes at a time and every once in a while move a few feet to catch a ball or toss it back to the infield. I’m sorry I neglected to mention the 40 or so times he has to trot around the bases after a homerun, or the 100 or so times he must trot to first base after an intentional walk.

In the past three years he has had a total of 13 stolen bases, so I feel sorry for that man that he had to dive on the soft clay surface that at some parks is like a beach when he stole second base. The man made decision years ago to pump himself up with steroids, that resulted in his head swelling to the size of a basketball and gave him that instant gratification that several athletes yearn for.

Now he sits at training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona sounding like a man that just spent ten years on the battlefield in Iraq. I mean give me a break, get your sorry ass to the gym and get in shape like most normal athletes do and that is with sweat and tears.

As I mention in the title at the top of the page, I seriously hope that any sportsbook offers a proposition wager on whether Barry will hit over or under 25 homeruns. Most people would think that if he suits up for 100 games, hitting that number is a foregone conclusion, I beg to differ. This guy is going to get booed right off the field and hopefully he leaves the game for good, as professional baseball in America, has enough problems as it is!

Bob Acton

Online Sports Betting

Getting The Most From Your Advertising Dollars

Word Count:
1020

Summary:
Finding a balanced approach to your advertising dollars is critical for small business owners. This article identifies techniques to assist with that balance.

Keywords:
offline advertising, online advertising, advertising for small business, internetmarketingusa, internet marketing ideas

Article Body:
You now have that website up and running. You have a great product. You are all set to start taking orders and making those trips to the bank to make deposits! And then you wait, and wait, and wait some more! Unless someone can find your site, you will have a very long wait! That is where the value and benefit of advertising comes in. Advertising is what brings potential customers into your “virtual business door”. As a business owner, every dollar you spend is a dollar right out of your pocket. This affects your profit margin and revenues. This can be especially difficult if it comes at a time when you’re trying to grow your business. If you’re going to succeed, you have to pay close attention to your bottom line and look for creative, innovative ways to cut costs while still getting what you need.

That old saying that it “takes money to make money” has never been truer than when it comes to promoting your business. And when it comes to spending money on advertising, how do you make sure that your advertising is working hard enough, without spending a fortune that consumes all your profits or even worse money that far exceeds your business revenues?

Thanks to the Internet, you’ve got lots of options for finding cost-effective advertising that does what it’s supposed to — bring targeted customers who are hungry for what you’re selling, right to your door. But don’t forget about cost-effective offline methods as well. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:

Always make sure you focus your advertising dollars on your target market. The tighter your niche, the better your chances of finding the customers who are looking for exactly what you’ve got to sell! So rather than going wide, and trying to sell to everyone, narrow your focus, and then, if possible, narrow it some more! Figure out who your “ideal” customer is, and then create an advertising campaign for them. Once you know who you’re selling to, look for media that targets that demographic. Depending on your product or service, think community and neighborhood newspapers, high school sponsor advertising, chamber of commerce directories, etc.

If your ideal customers aren’t defined by a specific geographic location, look at regional or specific demographic publications. Perhaps a regional paper runs an annual issue that focuses on an issue or activity that reaches your target market. Use local cable television to broadcast your ads only in certain markets. You’ll get cheaper rates and a more focused demographic.

Always ask for a discounted rate. (Many publications offer an “agency” discount of up to 15 percent. If you are acting as your own in-house advertising agency, you might qualify for the special rate. Sure, you might be turned down more often than not, but make it a habit to ask. It will be worth it every time it works for you.

Some monthly magazines offer discounts for multi-ads placed over a 3, 6 or 12 month time period. Most publications have a different rate schedule for different types of advertisers — so depending on your product or service, you could qualify. And if not, sometimes just asking for the discount will give it to you.

Buy leftover space or airtime. This is advertising that the publication, radio or television station hasn’t filled by their usual deadline. Of course you’ll have to take the spots that are available, but again, depending on your business and the product or service you’re selling, that inconvenience could still be worth the discount and the exposure you’ll receive.

Use classified ads. They’re not just for employment offers any more. You’ll find classified ads in magazines and newspapers. Before writing your ad, go to your local library, and look through the back issues of the magazine or newspaper that you’re considering. Look at the ads that catch your eye, or that are repeated month after month. Those ads wouldn’t be in there each month, if they weren’t making the advertiser money. Use those ads as springboards for ideas when you’re ready to start writing your own classifieds.

Test your ads. Start out with the cheaper publications, so you can find out what’s working and what’s not. Play with them, and tweak them. Once you’ve got an ad that works, keep using it. You can run it more than once, or in more than one publication at a time. When it quits bringing in customers, or you start noticing a drop in effectiveness, then it’s time to change it.

Do you own a retail business? If so, check into co-op advertising funds that may be offered by your vendors. Co-op programs provide joint advertising for your and your vendor, and you’ll get a portion of the cost of the ad reimbursed because the ad mentions the vendor. (Note: most Co-op programs have strict guidelines, so check with your vendors and make sure you’re following the rules).

Barter for goods and services. This can be especially effective with radio stations and local papers. See if you can provide your products or services in trade for the cost of advertising. (Also called “trade” or “In-kind” ads, the radio station or publication gives you the ad in exchange for products or services of equal value, and then uses those products or services as part of a promotion or contest for their listeners or readers). This can also be a great way to get additional free publicity, so if you decide to try this method, get creative and think outside the box!

Don’t forget or be afraid to recycle the good ads in other advertising medium. If you’ve got an ad that’s especially effective, looks great (or more importantly that is profitable), by all means reuse it in a circular, brochure, handout, flyer or direct mail piece. Use the graphics on your Webpages if available.

In summary, your goal should be to find a balanced mix of online and offline advertising. This will go a long way towards getting the greatest bang for your advertising buck! With a little creativity you will be maximizing your profits while minimizing your expenses.

Promoting Your Distributorship

Word Count:
528

Summary:
It’s an exciting time when you form a distributorship and start a small home business. Many distributors enjoy the wellness industry for because there are so many products and items to market to the general public. There is an increasing concern for health issues and the market for the wellness industry niche is quite vast. There is an incredible opportunity to make money with a home business in the wellness and health distributorship area on the Internet and offline.

One …

Keywords:
Business,Distributor, Distributoship

Article Body:
It’s an exciting time when you form a distributorship and start a small home business. Many distributors enjoy the wellness industry for because there are so many products and items to market to the general public. There is an increasing concern for health issues and the market for the wellness industry niche is quite vast. There is an incredible opportunity to make money with a home business in the wellness and health distributorship area on the Internet and offline.

One of the important aspects of promoting your distributorship is to let everyone know that you have products to distribute. For example, if you select to distribute fitness videos there are many ways to promote the videos to increase the potential customer base. If you were to sell fitness videos on the internet you can use Web auctions you can let others know of the link to the specific auction. If you have a Web store for your distributorship, you can let others know about the actual store link. This will increase the amount of people that know about the products to increase the potential for sales.

One very effective way of promoting your distributorship is through your email. You can email your friends and relatives the link to your products and ask them to take a look at them. Because wellness and health products typically sell themselves, you will more than likely make a sell from the basic emails asking them to visit and check out your new home business. The good news is that friends and relatives will then tell other people that they know about the products as well. These new contacts will spread the word and it snow balls into people buzzing about your new home business.

Another effective way of promoting your distributorship is to make up a small flyer with a few of your choice products to distribute. On the flyer, include contact information and the address for the Web store. You can promote your new small home business by placing flyers around your home town. Check with community centers, Laundromats, libraries, grocery stores and other local places and ask if you can place a flyer up at their location. People are naturally curious and percentage that sees the flyer will automatically come to your website out of curiosity.

Be a testimony for your products and services. Purchase and use several of your products. You can then tell people first hand how well the products and items worked for you. Your enthusiasm for the product will be contagious. You can even purchase items that you can put on display at a local flea market or vendor malls for visitors to sample or try. They can then each be handed your flyer that you are using for local places to take home with them. If you can afford it, you may want to have several of your most popular products in stock for people to immediately purchase. Many people use the flea markets and vendor malls for several weekends to create a buzz in the community about their products. This is an excellent way to promote your distributorship with very low overhead costs.